review #900 dedicated to LIVERPOOL FC for defeating man city in the race to the title

poured into fonteinen stemmed glass

pour started out a bit clear but glass fogged over from chill. head was light but fluffy however this is one lively gueuze. head just kept creating for some time after pour.

heavy oak up front with a sour lemon and apple. some fresh funky cheese lingering behind.

very unlike most typical fonteinen gueuzes. much more sharp and vibrant. very funky with a solid oak presence. heavy sour lemon compliments the bright oak. this is very bright, very sharp, very fresh. has some older musty flavors in the back that are pretty character fonteinen.

very carbonated, very lively. tingles the mouth all over.

pretty spectacular. its like the regular ouse gueuze turned up to 11. it is everything a gueuze could be and then some. this should age so well.

I couldn't believe it. Special thanks to @wtkeene for graciously sharing this beauty. Absolutely fantastic beer that is very much like its brethren in the Seasons. I can sit here and describe the nuances, but in reality all that needs to be known is seen in my rating, and I would love several more of these. Honored to place this at #900

Had alongside the seasons and A&G. This was immediately distinguishable as different than the others. Most intense Gueuze of the night. More tannins and grapefruit pith. Also more buttery caramel sweetness. A deeply funky nose. Tastes like everything a Gueuze should be and more. Perhaps the favorite straight Gueuze I've ever had.

Huge, huge thanks to GT2 for opening a bottle of this at a recent tasting. Served in a mini snifters. Pours a clear golden color with a nice, fluffy white head and good sticky lacing on the way down. Thin collar. The nose carries plenty of funk, including some damp hay, earth, lemon rind, bits of other citrus, and hints of strawberry. The flavor was similarly complex, with great acidic balance against a fairly-heavy funk. Heavy barnyard and hay alongside lemon, additional citrus, and mild strawberry seed. Body was light and crisp with a beautiful lactic and citric acidity. Extremely drinkable and enjoyable. Armand strikes again.

750ml bottle 6,0% Abv.
Served chilled in an over sized wine glass.
Reviewed from notes.

Appearance: What a beautiful geuze - the body is a lightly clouded, bright golden-orange and is topped by a thick white head. The head displays good retention for a sour and leaves some thick patches of lacing.

Smell: Mmmm, this smells like a delicious geuze, offering a wonderful combination of signature 3F funk and tart fruits. Notes include: Musty basement, tart citrus (lemon and orange), orange peel, old wood, damp hay, cider vinegar, a little oak, dry grass, tart white grapes, tart stone fruit, a hint of cheese, a dusty earthy character, a light metallic note and periodically a whiff of a leafy/herbal character. The nose is also quite acidic, I think this is going to be a fairly sour geuze.

Taste: As the nose suggested, this is a delicious geuze and one of the more sour geuzes I have had. Flavour notes include: Musty basement, tart lemon, lemon peel, green apple peel, cider vinegar, old wood, some hay, tart white grapes, light apricot, a mildewy note, a very earthy character and a touch of oak.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied (high for a geuze), with a medium/high level of amazingly creamy carbonation. The mouthfeel added to the wonderful acidity make this an amazingly drinkable geuze, I am regretting sharing this with my friends, as I would have happily finished the whole bottle myself.

Overall: Armand & Tommy blend is another outstanding sour from the guys at Drie Fonteinen and is right up there with the Armand seasons series. Highly recommended for any lover of sours.

On a side note, I have heard a few people say that this is the same beer as Golden blend, but this is most certainly NOT the case. I did not taste them side by side, but even from memory the differences are clear.

Again, joefuzz killed it at our tasting with this beer. The good time just kept on rolling.

Holy shit this beer is funky! From the murky appearance to the stable aromas once the cork was popped, this is a very unique beer.

Seriously, joefuzz said it best when he smelled it and proclaimed "Yeah, this smells just like a foot." It really does people. Totally different from the other geuzes that night, which had more fruit and sweetness. This has hardly any sweetness and instead is filled with a vinegary, funky, lemony tartness both in the aroma and on the palate. It even has just a little 'dankness' to it that I picked up on. Either way, this is probably the definition on what Belgian brewers can do with their yeast to create a funky-ass beer.

A - Pours a clear Golden colour with a nice frothy White head that reduces to a solid to a solid film.

S - Big horseblanket and citrus, classic Geuze but with more intesity.

T - Big Brett flavours of sourness that is tongue tingling, followed bt grassy straw and citrus, white wine, oak. The finish slaps you with some more sourness that leaves a film on the tongue that allows you to savour the brew for minutes after you have consumed it . It has acheived the holy grail of intense sour, matched with an array of balanced flavours. It actually gets a lot better as it warms too.

M - Medium body with medium to full carbonation.

O - Classic Geuze that lifts the bar on a lot of its counterparts. The intensity is impressive and leaves you wanting more. It also manages to retain a decent head the whole way through.

750ml bottle from the 2011 release. Served in a snifter glass. Pours a lighter orange, copper hued body with an effervescent two finger white head that lingers quite a while, leaving small patches of lacing, thick film and collar. Excellent retention. Smells of intense oak, lemon, blue cheese, peppercorn, loads of classic funk. The nose is probably the most impressive aspect of the beer, given the intensity and complexity. Flavour brings oak, blue cheese, funk, cobwebs, lemon, sweet malt. The ground peppercorns and more minerals come out more as it warms, adding more complexity. This bottle was served chilled (oops), so I would recommend serving at cellar temperature to maximize the amount of complexity you get as you drink your pour. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, effervescent, good carbonation, crisp and very drinkable. Nice oak, peppercorn and mineral-forward finish. Overall, this is one of these beers that gets hyped a lot, and for good reason. It's an excellent gueuze and different enough from the base Oude Geueze that it's worth going after. It's closer to the Seasons in character than anything else, but it's different in its own way.

O: Yet another beautiful Geuze from my favorite Lambic producer. While I wasn't quite as blown away by it as I was by all four seasons, it certainly held its own in the line-up. The aroma in particular contained some distinctive fruity notes that came as a surprise. It's well-worth trying if you get the chance, but unless you're an obsessive completist (yes, I'm guilty as charged) you'd be better served going after something like 3F Oude Geuze Vintage or any of the Armand'4s.

A hazed orange copper with enough clarity to see a tornado of bubbles, massive eggshell colored foam slowly falls to a finger deep and leaves lots of random lace, I'm impressed by the retention as there's still foam at the bottom of my glass

S funky as all hell, moldy cheese, damp basement, wet wood and some citrus peel, grassy with dried hay, somehow gym socks smell good, tart apple and more funk, leather boot and some faint electrical tape somehow works even though its slightly burnt. Every time you put I put my nose to it I get something different, complex to say the least

T citrus is focused towards lemon, and I'm not getting as much leather or funk but its still very funky, not quite the complexity of the nose but most of what I smells in the mouth in one form or another with a little dry cereal

M very carbonated, not overly sour and quite dry, stops short of being foamy but not by much, cheesy funk and citrus lingers for ages

O one of the more interesting beer I've had recently, lots going on and even though I'm still relatively new to the style I know what I like and I like this, a lot

something I could smell all day and I can see why its so sought after, I think I'll hang on to the few I have left for a long while and see what happens. Well worth seeking, good luck to ya

Popped upon my 1st bottle of many with my Swedish friends. Epic tasting night and thanks for acquirng these for me.

A - Big white head with moderately good retention with trace amounts of lacing. Digging the apricot colored body it leaves behind.

S - Lemon citrus smell with a surprisingly amount of grassy funk in the nose that's surprising for such a young gueuze. I cannot wait to taste how this will develop when I age them and open years to come.

T - More sour than I expected for such a young blend and a little bit surprised about the slightly sharper acidity. Perhaps my palate's a little bit distorted as this was one of five sours opened that night but it's a little bit unruly. Lots of lemon notes with slight amounts of passionfruit in the taste. Surprised at the funky dank taste but in a good way.

M - Large amounts of carbonation, medium full body that gives it a good mouth feel.

O - Cannot wait to see how this will taste with age. Really looking forward to its maturity as this will only get better.

Verdict: A very, very nice gueuze from both Armand and Tomme Arthur, really rustic and earthy but with just enough balancing brightness. It reminds me so much of Armand'4 Herfst, has a lot of that Autumn character with the dry leaves and crusty wheat. A delicious beer that any lambic lover would savor.

A- golden apple color. darker than most gueuze. This bottle poured a lot of head with medium retention. Finger width head dissipated to 1/4" within 5 minutes. Frothy head.

S- Lots of funk, barnyard, yeast, hay, some citrus in the background. Earthy grainy. This smells like a top notch gueuze. I am getting granny smith apple skin.

T- This tastes like a well crafted gueuze. Lots of barnyard funk taste going on here with a pleasant citrus note toward the back. This one was blended very well. This one almost makes you sneeze drinking it. This is behind lente, maybe tied with golden blend for me as far as how well it is crafted.

M- Very good on M. The lack of retention keeps the suds going down your throat. pretty thick for a gueuze (that does not mean a lot).

O- Very well crafted. The citrus note on the backend makes this gueuze. If this beer did not have that, it would be slightly above average. Another well crafted gueuze coming out of the 3F camp. Well done Armand!

A-Pours a cloudy deep orange with a finger and a halfs worth of frothy off-white head.

S-Nose is sharp, musty citrus and aged cheese. It’s quite funky and has a good amount of mineral to it.

T-Flavor has slightly less funk up to it, it’s more sharp lemon rind, aged cheese, wet hay, and damp basement.

M-Mouthfeel is light, carbonation is spritzy, moderate acidity, and a moderate finish.

O-Another great blend from Armand. Despite having this side by side with ’02 OGV in the past and thinking they were pretty different, I am inclined to pick out a lot of similarities when having this on its own. Look forward to seeing how this continues to age.

Hazy orange-yellow pour with a healthy cap of foamy white head that receded to a more manageable level, but never sank to less than a ringlet; moderate lacing on the glass. Aroma of musty citrus and earthy funk, somehow dirty and clean at the same time, cobwebs and wet grass. This was all reflected in the taste, musty, grassy, earthy, nice notes of lemon zest, 7Up, cobwebs and wet cardboard, with a perky acidity/sourness that was not too intense, and a slight bittering finish and earthy reprise. Complex and well-balanced, one of the better gueuzes I've had. Medium body, medium carbonation appropriate for the style, crisp, prickly mouthfeel. Great gueuze overall. Need more somehow.

Big thanks to FooFaa for opening this one for us to try. I have wanted to try this one for quite awhile now.

A - Pours clear golden orange with a small half finger tall white head, quickly dissipating down to a light film, leaving small streaks of lace on the sides of the glass.

S - Smells of strong barnyard funk, lots of minerals, damp basement, mild lemon zest and lightly toasted grain. I love that it still smells like the normal oude gueuze but turned up a notch or two.

T - Pretty much more of the same. Starts off with the intense barnyard funkiness and plenty of earthy minerals slowly being joined by the damp basement, fruit zest and light grains. Finish is spritzy funk, lingering long after the finish.

M - Medium body with moderate carbonation. The funky feel is quite nice really, it is noticeable but it doesn't overpower. I could have easily polished off the whole bottle.

O - Probably the best gueuze I have had in recent memory. All of the typical Drie Fonteinen flavors are there in spades yet it is super easy to drink. Glad I could finally try this one, thanks Dan!

Big thanks to Duffman929 for sharing this. A bit of a gusher upon popping the cork, but once the glass was poured, all was good. Appearance is a slightly hazy orange with generous fizzy head. Nose is very complex with strong notes of orange flesh, pineapple and peach paired with heavy funk, notes of white wine, spicy notes of black pepper, and a hint of caraway seed. The taste is moderately tart with nice waves of bright citric fruit paired with layers of funk. The funk is very nice and isn't in anyway off putting. Notes of oak, white grapes, and some vinous notes all come together and have a nice clean finish. Mouthfeel is light and well carbonated. Delicious blend here and definitely worth seeking out.